"Honestly, unless you truly do have a once in a lifetime type idea no one is going to steal it. Chances are your idea is already out there and someone already did it, just poorly enough that it didn't gain traction. I get dozens of ideas daily for new web apps/sites, but none of them take off because I don't have the time to a) build them and more importantly b) market them. Getting users is really, really difficult which is a good and bad thing for you. Bad because it's going to be tough going gaining traction but good because it lowers the chances someone will steal your idea. Like others have said the idea doesn't really matter, it's all about the execution. Having said all that, expect to pay $50-$150 per hour depending on language used ( PHP, Ruby, & Python will likely be cheaper than something more obscure ). Personally, if you came to me with a unique web app idea I'd be pumped about getting paid the $5,000-$50,000 to build it and be super pleased to then hand it off to you to..." - Adam Pieniazek